More than 300 firefighters have been lost in Washington state in the line of duty since records have been kept going back to 1891, according to the Washington State Council of Fire Fighters.
The names of those firefighters – some with fire districts, others with wildland firefighting efforts and Department of Natural Resources – would be displayed on a new memorial at the Capitol Campus, if House Bill 2091 , moving forward in Olympia, becomes law.
The prime sponsor of the legislation, Rep. Dan Bronoske, D-Tacoma, on Friday told members of the House Capital Budget Committee , “The idea is for us, as a state, to have a place for families to memorialize firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty; a place where people can come to reflect the losses they’ve suffered, because of the brave sacrifices made by firefighters across Washington state.”
The state Department of Natural Resources would oversee design, with input from other organizations, with a ballpark figure for design and construction at $5 million.